Union Pacific Gets $3.5M Verdict Nixed Over Theft Evidence

By Mike Curley

An Illinois appeals court has wiped out a $3.5 million injury verdict against Union Pacific Railroad Co., saying the trial court wrongly excluded evidence that the plaintiff had previously been convicted of a felony crime of dishonesty.

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Ill. Jury Convicts Ex-Police Chief Of Taking, Covering Bribe

By Lauraann Wood

Federal jurors in Chicago convicted a former suburban police chief Wednesday of accepting a $10,000 cash bribe and splitting the money with a former municipal employee before trying years later to cover the payment up as a loan.

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HPE Fights State AGs' Bid To Block Juniper Integration

By Matthew Perlman

Hewlett Packard Enterprise told a California federal court that even though it has already combined with Juniper Networks, state enforcers are seeking to temporarily break up the companies while the court mulls a U.S. Department of Justice settlement over the $14 billion wireless networking deal.

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7th Circ. Upholds Tax Conviction Of DHS Special Agent

By Anna Scott Farrell

A jury relied on enough evidence to convict a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent of tax crimes related to his secret dealings with drug dealers, the Seventh Circuit said Wednesday, rejecting his claim that proof of his corruption was insufficient.

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AGs Say Judicial Safety Threats Reaching 'All-Time Highs'

By Matthew Santoni

Attorneys general for 43 states, three territories and the District of Columbia signed a letter to Congress urging more financial support for judicial security in the face of threats against judges, including funding for a program that lets judges scrub addresses and personal information from online databases.

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Nonprofits Can't Sue Over Atty Exec's Disciplinary Case

By Celeste Bott

Two judicial reform-focused organizations whose main executive is facing attorney disciplinary proceedings over statements he allegedly made about two state court judges don't have standing to sue over the underlying action, an Illinois federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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Kilpatrick Brings On Akerman SALT Pro

By Jaqueline McCool

Kilpatrick Townsend said Wednesday that it's bringing on a former Akerman tax professional, experienced in advising clients from middle-market businesses to Fortune 500 companies, to the firm's state and local tax practice.

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6 Ways To Nuke-Proof Litigation As Explosive Verdicts Rise

As the increasing number of nuclear verdicts continues to reshape the litigation landscape, counsel must understand how to create a multipronged defense strategy to anticipate juror expectations and mitigate the risk of outsize jury awards, say attorneys at Norton Rose.

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How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

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Series

The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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Bonus Spotlight

Litigation Shops Paying Above-Market Bonuses, Reports Say

By Andrea Keckley

Litigation boutiques Yetter Coleman LLP and Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP are giving above-market bonuses to their associates, according to reports from Above the Law and Bloomberg.

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Jack Smith To Launch Firm With Willkie Partner, 2 Ex-Deputies

By Jack Rodgers

Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel appointed to investigate President Donald Trump, is set to launch his own firm alongside two of his former top deputies and the co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's investigations and enforcement practice.

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Judge Bove Faces Complaint Over Trump Rally Attendance

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove, who previously served as President Donald Trump's personal defense attorney and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, has been hit with a judicial misconduct complaint for his appearance at a Trump event on Tuesday night.

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Analysis

Wanted: Temporary US Attorney, No Experience Needed

By Phillip Bantz

Frustrated by a string of court rulings disqualifying several of his U.S. attorney picks, President Donald Trump lamented recently that he might "just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one, another one." Experts say the idea raises legal and practical issues.

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Akerman Beats Healthcare Cos.' Bid To Escape Fee Suit

By Madison Arnold

Akerman LLP can continue its fees lawsuit against Rennova Health Inc. and other defendants after they lost their motion to dismiss the suit for being "facially time-barred, factually flawed and legally indefensible," a Florida state judge has ruled.

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Fla. Atty Faces Bar Referral Over 'Hallucinated' Case In Filing

By Madison Arnold

A Florida appeals court will refer an attorney to the state's Bar after she filed a brief that included a "hallucinated" case.

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Disciplined Attys Want High Court's Take On Judge Criticism

By David Minsky

A father-daughter team of attorneys have brought a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging their suspensions for criticizing a Florida state judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of their client in a racial discrimination lawsuit, saying their comments are protected by the First Amendment. 

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McIver's Immunity Disputed In Detention Center Assault Case

By Elizabeth Daley

Federal prosecutors asked a New Jersey federal judge to maintain all charges against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was accused in an indictment of assaulting federal officers outside an immigration detention center during a scrum in which the mayor of Newark was arrested in May.

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Regulate AI With Existing Regs, Financial Industry Lobby Says

By Sarah Jarvis

The Financial Services Institute on Wednesday recommended that regulators apply existing rules and standards to artificial intelligence, saying they should use new rules only when AI brings "genuinely new issues or significantly alters existing risks."

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